We have taken a fair few long haul flights with our gang of kids and the thought of it is always worse than the actual event. On our first long haul we were so massively over prepared because of the fear of the kids kicking off and not being able to handle being on a flight for that long meant I ended up taking a bag full of books, toys, puzzle books, toy cars, colouring pens etc only to carry the majority of them around unused as the kids only played with a handful of them. So to save you the hassle of taking unecessary hand luggage on your next trip here is my short list of the top 5 things that keep kids entertained on long journeys.
Here is my top 5 items to take with you on a long journey to enterain kids (and it doesnt include tech - as thats a bit of a no brainer!)
A Bag of random Lego bricks
Magic Painting Books - No I havent gone mad. These painting books really are Magic as the pigment is already in the page. All that is required is water to bring the paint to life and 'magically' colour a range of different pictures. You can get them in a range of different themes from woodland to Jungle to mermaids to Zoo. At around £6 / $7 they are a really cost effecive way to keep the kids happy. Grab a handful at your local book store or on AMAZON
TOP TIP - Take a few spare paint brushes with you as everyone ends up joining in as the painting is so addictive.
One for older children and adults as well. If you love solving a mystery then this range of Murder Mystery Logic Puzzle books are for you and your older kids. Perhaps buy 2 otherwise you'll be fighting over these addictive brain teasers with your teenagers. Grab a copy for around £8 / $8 when its on deal buy it here
Card Games
There are a HUGE selection of card games out there so it can be tricky to know the best ones to choose. Monopoly Deal is a family favourite, easy to play an always brings out the competative side. This is one for older children (approx age 8+) but if you want a game that is universal then grab a pack of UNO, I'm sure everyone in the world has now played UNO, however they do various versions now, whether it is themed with your favourite characters like the Minecraft Edition UNO or the Mario Card Edition UNO or try a harder version on the game UNO FLIP. If you want more details on travel card games jump over to my other Blog - Best Travel games for Families
Sticker books, particularly the Usborne Stickers books have been a travel companion of ours for many years. They come in so many different themes so there is sure to be one that will please even the fussiest of kids. The stickers are really robust so withstand the tugging from little hands and the pages are well designed with bright backgrounds allowing the kids (and you) to create some really lovely imaginative pictures.
A Bag of random Lego Bricks
We do this for every trip out, even if its just out for dinner in a restaurant. Grab yourself a sandwich bag and fill it with a couple of handfuls of random lego bricks. Our kids absolutely love Lego and it brings out their creativing and free spirit when they dont have to follow instructions and can play around with the bricks making random robots, vehicles, monsters or anything else that springs to mind.
Hopefully this helps give you some ideas are of kind of entertainment that out kids have loved over the years and still do. My one piece of advice always is DON'T OVER PACK and this is especially true of hand luggage. Its good to let kids get bored every now and again it sparks their creativity and more often than not they will have more fun with an empty box than they will with any expensive toy!
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